"This study aims to investigate the terminological context of the instrumental rule," clarify the relationship between rule and the objectives-based (maqasidic) rule and other Shari’a rules, elucidate the sources from which this rule derives its existence, and highlight its legitimacy and historical development stages, starting from the centuries in which the first seeds of interest were formed, and passing through successive stages in which efforts were made to document, regulate, and extrapolate, within individual and collective frameworks.

The study addressed the concept of sustainable development in contemporary thought, then in its terminological context, and chose seven instrumental rules to apply in the realm of this development:

The rule 1: [The means to an end is subordinate to the end].

The rule 2: [The better of two good things is preferred by foregoing the lesser, and the worse of two evils is avoided by committing to the lesser].

The rule 3: [What is forgiven in means is not forgiven in ends].

The rule 4: [What is most effective in achieving the objective of the Sharia is most beloved].

The rule 5: [If an objective has two or more means, none of them is specifically determined, but rather one chooses between them].

The rule 6: [The means fall with the fall of the objectives].

The rule 7: [Legitimate objectives do not justify prohibited means].

These rules have a proven impact on guiding social, economic, and environmental developmental fields. The researcher followed the inductive and analytical method and reached a number of conclusions, foremost among which are:

• The regulatory capacity of instrumental rules has a proven impact on rationalizing the process of sustainable development, from multiple aspects such as balancing between means in terms of effectiveness, Sharia preference in terms of attraction and deterrence, expanding means unlike objectives, choosing between means when there is no specific determination, and preventing prohibited means under the pretext of legitimate objectives.
• Regulating these aspects or conditions in instrumental rules significantly helps in implementing sustainable development properly and achieving its civilizational and stewardship goals, away from the limits of excess and negligence in the use of means.